Metu leads USC past Utah
Trojan, who was listed in reports as receiving impermissible benefits, gets 14 points. USC 74, UTAH 58
Junior, part of probe into corruption in college basketball, scores 14 points in 74-58 victory.
SALT LAKE CITY — Chimezie Metu, despite being listed in documents produced by the FBI investigation into college basketball corruption, found a respite on the court.
“When I’m on the court, nothing else matters. I was just out there playing. I wasn’t paying attention to anything anybody else was saying,” said Metu, who scored 14 points to lead USC to a 74-58 victory over Utah on Saturday.
Metu acknowledged extra conversations with compliance officers and the existence of reports that named him as receiving impermissible benefits, but said, “I’m not going to lose any focus at all. I didn’t do anything wrong. Nobody in my family did anything wrong. For me, there was never a doubt I’d play.”
Lynn Swann, USC’s athletic director, said in a statement that the school launched “an immediate investigation” to determine Metu’s eligibility when the notes were publicized in media reports on Friday.
“We determined that Chimezie is eligible to play in today’s game at Utah,” said the statement, released Saturday morning. “If additional information becomes available, we will act accordingly.”
Jordan Usher matched his career high with 14 points and the Trojans (21-9, 12-5 Pac-12 Conference) bolstered their case for an NCAA tournament spot with their fourth consecutive victory.
After the Utes battled back to 55-49, Elijah Stewart made consecutive dunks to spark a 16-0 run to clinch the game. Stewart finished with 10 points.
“I don’t want to take any of the credit away from USC. They made some big-time shots in the first half and the six open shots they missed, they got rebounds and scored 12 points on them so it was a little bit of a perfect storm for us,” coach Larry Krystkowiak said. “I’m just proud our guys didn’t fold our tents in the first half and fought back.”
In the midst of the run, Krystkowiak got a technical foul with 7 minutes 27 seconds to go and had to be restrained by his assistants from chasing the officials.
David Collette had 14 points for Utah (18-10, 10-7), which had a winning streak end at five games.
USC held the Utes to three-for-15 shooting to start the game.